Grace Lutheran Church Sermon Third Sunday in Lent, March 11, 2007

The Rev. Evan Gaertner

Third Sunday in Lent “The Patient Gardener"

March 11, 2007 Luke 13:1-9

The parable of the barren fig tree is a story of patience and mercy. Parables are stories Jesus told using nearby events and surroundings to teach his disciples and others.

In the first part of the gospel lesson Jesus responded to the news that Pilate had killed some men from Galilee. Apparently Pilate took their blood and mixed it with their sacrifices.

Kenneth Bailey, an expert at placing the events of the New Testament into their historical context, wrote, “A modernization of this same incident would be to go up into a Christian village in the Lebanese mountains and announce, ‘They came into the church with their machine guns and gunned down the faithful in the very act of participating in the Holy Eucharist! The blood of the worshippers was mingled with the holy wine on the altar! Now what do you think of that?!”

This indeed was an ugly crime that Jesus has just been told about and they hoped that Jesus would speak against Pilate and the Roman occupation. Maybe this was going to be the spark that would ignite the people to act up against Rome. But Jesus did not use this as an occasion to speak on whether political freedom from Rome was near.

Instead Jesus used this heinous crime as an opportunity to speak on the need for all to repent. Jesus called not for speculation about what these men had down to deserve their deaths, but instead for all to take time for sorrow over their own sin and faith.

Then Jesus talked about the 18 who died when a tower collapsed. Their death was accidental: possibly an earthquake, a shift in soils beneath, poor construction, or misaligned cornerstone. Maybe the Galileans had been involved in some sort of revolt that brought the angry hand of Pilate justifiably against them, but what had those that had died under the tower done to bring this death upon themselves.

Jesus gave the same response about both groups, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Were these dead worse sinners than others? Jesus brought these events to the lives of those around him saying, “No, you are in the same boat as they are, you must repent.”

The conclusion to these events is not, “they must have deserved it,” but rather, “I deserve the same,” yet also, “Thank God that Jesus perished on behalf of me and of all, so that I might not perish eternally.” (Concordia Commentary, Lockwood, 535)

I don’t think any of us consider that those that died with the collapse of the two World Trade Towers did something in particular to deserve that death. Any such tragedy should not be regarded as a sign of God’s judgment against a particular person, but a sign of God’s judgment against all people. All deaths are a result of living in a world of sin. If you ever want to be reminded that we need a savior, we just need to look at ourselves. All of us have experienced the grief of someone dying.

Jesus responds to both the tower and the persecution of the Galileans by reminding his listeners, REPENT. Not one of us deserves anything better than what they have experienced.

When is the right time to repent and believe in the mercy of Jesus Christ? The parable of the barren fig tree gives me a sense of the urgency that we are facing. In the parable a man is frustrated that a fig tree in his vineyard is not bearing any fruit. He wants to cut it down. But the gardener pleads for one more year. After a time of nourishing love, if the tree has borne no fruit, then the tree is to be cut down. Even the gardener will not wait forever.

The owner of the vineyard expected the fig tree to bear fruit. He used good soil. He provided care.

Our heavenly father has made me and all creatures. He had planted Israel, plucking them out of slavery in Egypt. He gave them the law and the prophets watering their spirits with his promises. But they would not bear the fruit of faithfulness.

Isaiah 5 says, “he looked for justice, but behold bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry.” (Is. 5:7)

Without repentance and faith in our savior he would not witness in us any good fruit. On my own I can do no good thing. Jesus came and through his blood he nourishes my body and soul. As I remain in my savior I can bear good fruit, but apart from him I remain empty. Apart from the work of our patient gardener, our savior Jesus, we deserve to be cut down like that barren fig tree. We deserve nothing, we deserve the same that those Galileans suffered or those that died in the collapse of the tower of Siloam.

When is the right time to repent? Right now! You do not know the day or the hour when the day of the Lord will come. But the wonderful comfort is that our messiah Jesus Christ does not desire that we be cut down. He is our patient gardener. He waters, fertilizes, cultivates us so that we may bear good fruit.

We do not have forever to repent and believe. The final opportunity for the fig tree was that last year of care from the gardener. Without fruit the tree would be cut down.

On the day of the Lord will face the ax of judgment. No one will escape the judgment of the lord. Will you be judged according to your deeds or with repentance and faith will stand on the work of Jesus Christ?

Those who are unfruitful will be cut off. This might sound harsh. But this is the truth of sin. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Even just one sin makes one accountable to all the law. The wages of sin is death, eternal separation from God. It is the patience of our savior that he warns us to repent and give us reason to have faith in his promise.

The good news of the gospel is that our patient gardener has mercy on us.

Soli Deo Gloria

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